The difference between trust and forgiveness
by RosesToPaint
Summary: Team 7 dragged back their wayward teammate kicking and screaming, but being an Uchiha does not always equal a free ride. His team's forgiveness is easily given, but what about the rest of the village? For the first time in his life Uchiha Sasuke will have to work his way up from the bottom. The very bottom. The goal: reunite Team 7; The obstacle:...Squad 4
1. Chapter 1

„_Keep in mind, that you're not exactly welcome here."_

_The words were cold and tinged with fondness not directed at him. His teammates stiffened at that, imperceptibly leaning towards him, as if to guard him from the Hokage._

_Supporting, stifling._

_He kept his gaze on the wall and his back straight._

"_Nevertheless there has been…__**vehement support**__ of your…__**reintegration**__. I can't begin to tell you how lucky you are."_

_It didn't feel that way. Maybe was because of the bitter defeat he still tasted on his tongue; maybe it was the realization that, even if he killed Orochimaru, if he still couldn't defeat Naruto, he stood no chance against Itachi. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the shame of knowing that these people still loved him, that he was getting another chance that he didn't deserve. "Make no mistake", Tsunade of the Senju continued, unperturbed by his stoic silence. "Even if your team had enough sway over me to vote in your favor, the council just wants your Sharingan. If you misbehave, I'm sure they'll quickly decide having them in a jar will suffice." The twitch of his mouth was the first reaction he had shown since his capture and Sakura's eyes zeroed in on it with the experience of a woman constantly surrounded by emotionally stunted men. Her face had hardened since he left and the way she assessed him had changed, but her eye for his minute expressions was as reliable as it has always been. The thought of his eyes, his legacy, transplanted into a row of nameless, faceless ninja until they decayed away didn't sit well with him at all._

"_This is not a game", the Hokage stressed, "You aren't twelve anymore, when all your stubborn, self-destructive bouts could be written off as teenage angst. You severely damaged this village's trust in you and therefore your career. If we could spare you from our ranks, we would. I'd love to strip you of your rank, seal away your chakra and wait until you find a girl to pop out some kiddies with the Sharingan. Unfortunately I can't do that. But I also can't allow the reformation of Team 7."_

"_BUT BAA-CHAN –" Naruto's tentative countenance, only maintained by stress and fear, shattered. Sakura shifted uncomfortably. "Shishou-"_

"_No."_

_It was so final, that both fell silent at once, even if his blond teammate still stared at her defiantly. "He will have to prove himself first. Team 7 is a Chuunin team. I don't doubt at all that you would keep an eye on him, but I'm not sure if it would be enough to make him heel."_

_He wanted to bristle, but the Hokage's ill-tempered stare kept him quiet. "If he leaves the village – and that's a big IF – I want him under proper supervision. Or would you rather risk losing him again and then I'd have to issue a Kill-On-Sight order?"_

_Naruto deflated. "If he proves himself maybe I'll think this over. But right now this is all I can give you. Come see me tomorrow for further instructions. Kakashi, you too. Don't be late this time – I mean it."_

ANBU headquarters were not what he expected. Actually he didn't think he'd ever be allowed anywhere near it after his defection, so he hadn't thought much about it at all. But whatever he might have expected, this wasn't it. The building was located at the outskirts of the village, but it looked every bit like a normal, civilian housing. It wasn't pompous the way the Academy and the Hokage Tower were, but it also wasn't exactly hidden away like the, well, the ANBU themselves. There was even a quaint little sign reading "ANBU Headquarters". He followed Kakashi silently, keeping all scornful thoughts to himself.

"_You will be assigned to ANBU," Tsunade said calmly, as if she hadn't just assigned a traitor to Konoha's most respected task force. "You will be serving in Squad 4 under Captain Sasaki. Kakashi will lead you there. Register at the front, get your gear and be ready at ANBU training grounds 9 at 1100 hours at the latest. Dismissed."_

Kakashi stopped at the door.

"What?" His former teacher looked at him with an almost imperceptible frown. "Squad 4…-"

There was a prolonged silence in which Sasuke slowly but surely lost his patience. "What? What about Squad 4, _Sensei_?" His former teacher ignored the mocking tone. "Squad 4 isn't an ordinary ANBU squad. They won't make it that easy for you. So you need to be careful."

Sasuke sneered. "Careful? I'm not an idiot, _Sensei_. It's ANBU, of course it's dangerous. I don't see how one squad or another matters. I don't see why you're suddenly _worried_ about me. I don't need or want your pity."

"This isn't about pity, Sasuke. You used to be my student; no matter what you've done, I can't let you walk into this blindly."

"So what? What is so special about Squad 4?"

The Jounin crossed his arms. "Squad 4 is a disciplinary squad. It's full of exceptional but volatile shinobi, who were too good to pass up, but unfit to let loose on the general populace. Geniuses that committed murder, insubordination or extreme unauthorized violence, as well as those who have simply become unhinged. Sasaki-taichou is to keep them under constant surveillance and is ordered to kill them off the minute they become too much of a liability. You'll be sent onto the most dangerous missions with a team you can't trust to watch your lunch, much less your back. If you screw this up, Sasaki will cut you down. Tsunade and the council will only get a sticky note of your elimination and your eyes in jam jar."

Sasuke scowled. "I know it's not in your nature, Sasuke, but if your Captain says 'Roll over' you do it. Do you hear me? For once in your life swallow your damn pride or Naruto and Sakura will never get over it." He opened the door, not waiting for an answer. On the inside the building looked just as unremarkable as on the outside. There were ninja milling about, drinking coffee or gossiping around the water cooler. On the left there was a desk with a smiling, elderly woman behind it. "State your registration number and business."

Kakashi cleared his throat. "009720 here to register, Uchiha Sasuke, 012606, on orders of Hokage-sama under Sasaki-taichou, 009942."

"Alright", the woman said, casting Sasuke an assessing look, before she grinned at him, baring yellowed teeth. "Fill out this form and proceed to room 001 down the hall."

The tall, butch man in room 001, an Akimichi, Sasuke thought, looked his filled out form over briefly, before crumpling it and throwing it in the trash. "Taichou don' care 'bout that kinda crap. Misaki's just bein mean. No allergies, no disorders 'sides the usual – you're good to go."

'Besides the usual'.

He was fitted for the ANBU standard uniform; pants, shirt, shoes and armor. He got handed a seabag with regulation scrolls, weapons and yet more bags and pouches, before the Akimichi sat him down on a chair. "Tattoo takes ten minutes, after that you go to 003 to get a mask. Won' be needin' 002, you got no fam'ly and Squad 4 stuff goes to the village if you bite it." Sasuke cast him a dark look. "Contrary to popular belief, I have no intention of…'biting it' before I make it off probation." The man clapped him on the back. "Good for you. Heard there be corpse fuckers in No. 4 – dunno if taichou cares after you're dead, pretty-boy." He had no answer to that.

003 was an old man behind a counter. He gave him a long hard look, unperturbed by Sasuke's glare, before strolling off into the back room and bringing back a tora mask. "Room 004," he wheezed out, "for the physical."

At 1030 hours he was fully equipped, dressed and given a room in one of the barracks out in the woods. He was also in a foul mood and a dire need to beat the stuffing out of someone. With that in mind he marched out towards the training grounds.

ANBU training ground 9 was a mountain type terrain, full of sharp, ragged stones, holes in the ground that seemed to lead into a tunnel system, and massive rock formations. A group of shinobi sat right in the middle of it, idly polishing weapons or talking in low, hissing voices. They made no move to acknowledge him as he approached, so he simply waited close by, seemingly without sparing them a glance. In actual fact he watched them very closely out of his peripheral vision. There were five men and two women. Two of the men, a tall, gangly blonde and a bulky red-head missing an entire arm, sat apart from the rest of them, conversing quietly, a pile of gleaming kunai between them. A big, burly ninja with a buzz cut argued viciously with a rat-faced blonde with glasses, whose fingers kept twitching towards his weapon pouch. He couldn't make out their words, but the tone kept escalating. Between the two groups sat a dark haired boy, a Hyuuga barely older than him, silently drawing nonsensical lines into the dirt with his finger. The kunoichi, a dark haired waif of a woman, with a ghostly pale face and vacant eyes, and a girl that could have been her twin, but healthier and more alert looking, watched the brewing fight with mild interest. An enraged roar indicated the end of the argument and the start of a fight. Buzz cut punched rat-face in the jugular, only for him to poof out of existence. A clone. Hands shot out of the ground, reaching for Buzz cut's legs, but were snatched instead, as the bigger ninja pulled his opponent out of the ground. Before he could punch him again a kunai zipped past his fingers. He dropped the blonde and instead went after his new target in a berserker rage. Something shot past him, sweeping his legs from under him and disappearing again. Sasuke activated his Sharingan, but saw nothing but the afterimages of someone swiping at Buzz cut's ankles. The man roared again, unsealing an axe from his tattooed forearm and went after the rest of the Squad instead. They didn't even bother to flee. Again someone shot from behind a boulder, and this time he could clearly recognize a tanto whirring through the air, cleaving Buzz cut's head off his shoulders. There was a moment of silence, as his skull rolled down an incline, finally falling down one of the holes into the cave system. The attacker was a woman.

Taller than the other kunoichi, with muscled forearms and a fierce expression; she fit in perfectly with the group. He wasn't surprised as the Squad stood up to bow to her. "Ohaiyou gozaimasu, Anegimi."

The woman nodded. "Ginzo, take care of the body. Everybody else, line up", she rasped.

She turned in his direction. "Uchiha, here."

He sneered at her. What did she think he was, a mutt? The heat of a Katon jutsu drew his eyes towards Ginzo, the rat-faced shinobi, who so cavalierly cremated Buzz cut's remains. "Uchiha." It was a warning, but nothing in her tone suggested disdain or derision. It was simply an order and he was expected to follow. _If your Captain says 'Roll over', you do it_.

He went.

"Uchiha Sasuke, registration number 012606, don't kill him", she introduced blandly before gesturing for him to join the lineup. "Mikina, Shiki you are first up. The rest of you, step back. Uchiha, the first two hours of training every day are used to observe your teammates to internalize their behavior and fighting style. If you ever detect any deviance from the norm, during a mission or otherwise, inform me at once."

The sisters stepped forward, while the rest of the squad took a seat a few yards away. As the women faced each other, Sasuke activated his Sharingan, observing his Captain instead. She was indeed tall, almost six foot and harsh looking. Despite his time in Sound, he was unused to such Kunoichi. He vividly remembered Sakura at twelve, Karin, one of Orochimaru's assistants, at fourteen, and about every other woman he ever met. Even the sisters, Mikina and Shiki, who were currently beating the hell out of each other with a devastating taijutsu style, giggling all the while, were slim and prettily made up with long, ebony hair and red lips. The Captain's dark hair was pulled back in a severe braid that only made her prominent, slightly hooked nose stand out even more. He understood now why the medic-nin had called her 'the hawk'. Two scars stood out starkly against her pale face, one having obviously destroyed her left eye, the other, smaller one, pulled the corner of it slightly downward. She was missing two fingers on her right hand. The edges of another vicious looking, gnarly scar peeked from out of her collar, as if someone had tried to rip out her throat. Her voice certainly sounded as if they'd almost succeeded. "Not pretty, huh?" someone said next to him. It was the lanky blonde. "There's more of them. At least half are from her own team. Until she killed them, that is."

He stared at the man, who only grinned at him. "Aoi" – he held out a hand – "one of the oldies. Hajimemashite." The Uchiha eyed the hand skeptically. "They warned you, huh? Don't worry, I don't go berserk until I see my own blood. Hotaka, on the other hand…you wanna stay away from him when you're bleeding." He gestured towards the one-armed red-head. The man in question rolled his eyes. "Stop telling the newbie shit, Aoi. I might take a chunk out of him when he's dead, but I don't think he'll care then." Aoi giggled stupidly. Sasuke only stared at them. "Shut up and concentrate", Sasaki-taichou hissed and they fell silent.

Training was grueling. Far more so than he'd anticipated but not worse than he was used to. He had defeated Ginzo rather easily, but not before the bastard had summoned a whole damn pack of dogs, that had sunk their teeth into him and refused to let go until the Captain _made_ them. When Ginzo regained consciousness he had made a joke about the Captain kicking puppies, before she cuffed him around the head and made him run laps around the grounds until he collapsed. His taichou was a machine and his team entirely suspicious, but at 1300 hours he suspected, that this might not be a bad place for him.

_Anegimi_ similar to Onee-sama; extremely respectful

I'm not entirely sure how to describe the genre I have in mind for this. It's some kind of mix between family/friendship/drama with a bit of humor thrown in and possibly some horror – I love creepy fluff. The idea just jumped me this morning so I don't know yet how this is going to turn out. Maybe a series of oneshots set in the same universe?


	2. Chapter 2

Update! Heeeey!

I thought I'd go with the oneshot version. They won't be chronological, but I think it'll be obvious in which order to read them. If it's not, I'll post a guide at one point.

iyaoyas: I also thought he got off too easy, but don't have it in me to make this all torture, I don't think. Mostly because I like playing with Sasuke too much. But I'll certainly make him struggle:D

* * *

"What did you do."

It wasn't a question as much as it was a threat. "Us?" Sakura squawked. "What did YOU do?" The dobe's chopsticks dropped into his bowl, spraying ramen everywhere. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

This was, sadly, not a new reaction for Sasuke. He'd garnered stares wherever he went for the past two months, since he'd finally been allowed back into the village proper. But today the stares were absolutely justified, as he limped along, left eye blackened and swollen shut, his arms only haphazardly bandaged, red bleeding through on various spots. He was also pretty sure his nose was broken. Sakura's hands shot out reflexively to help, the green glow of her healing chakra already sparking between her fingers. "DON'T touch me. I'm not allowed to get this healed. What did you do?" Naruto still gaped at him. "We didn't do anything! We just – you've been back for almost half a year, teme! We wanted a mission together! You're already back in the village, it's time you come back to team 7."

Kakashi whistled lowly. "Someone's pissed off the captain."

"Your captain did this?"Sakura's face twisted in a mix of disbelief and anger. No, the captain did not do this. She only gave the command that sent him through hell and back, but the actual dirty work was carried out by the rest of the team. "What the hell, teme! We only wanted a mission!"

"Squad 4", their sensei informed them pointedly, "doesn't take too kindly to someone pulling their members. _You_ can just request someone different, but nobody's going to send an innocent to _them_."

"So no mission", the blond idiot whined.

Yes mission, actually. The next day Sasaki-taichou informed them that they would be spending two months undercover in Rain. Or at least that had been the plan. Because Sasuke now had a cushy escort mission with team 7, and they were now a man short and so seven weeks turned into nine. When Hotaka 'accidently' broke two of his fingers that day, all medics were suddenly incredibly busy. And he'd thought the hazing was over.

The escort mission went off without a hitch of course. Sasuke found his patience for his old team – and civilians with their naïve, romanticized notions of what it means to be a ninja – had not increased since he was twelve. So 'without a hitch', actually meant they got the bride to her husband-to-be without injuries. It also involved a ridiculous brawl with Naruto, disappointed stares from Kakashi-sensei and Sakura no longer speaking to him.

Why did he feel like this had been inevitable?

And why was he the only one?

The only comfort were the five to seven weeks to himself until the horror squad came back to _end_ him.

It were a long few weeks.

Back at the barracks he was greeted by even colder stares than usual. For the first time in months the word 'traitor' followed him like a bad smell. Very much, and at the same time very unlike, five and a half months ago. He found he hadn't missed it at all.

"If Miki-chan dies, _you_ are getting me another piece of ass", one of his roommates hissed. "As if you ever had a piece of hers", a random tiger mask snorts from behind. "Almost, ok? – I was _this_ close."

"Don't stick your dick in crazy", Tora advised and vanished. But not before delivering a swift, vicious kick to Sasuke's instep.

The next day all his left shoes were gone.

Someone had strung up his training gear along the rafters of barrack 19, home to the perpetually horny seduction squad.

All training grounds were mysteriously booked for squad drills.

The latter forced him to use one of the public grounds close to the compound, where he was immediately circled by a bunch of masked ANBU like vultures. He knew what was coming.

The first blow hit him into the instep. Tora. He was wearing a dog mask now, but the way his foot found the exact sore spot was unmistakable.

He blocked two kicks, aimed to shatter his knees. A cat mask burst from below his feet and was stopped by Sasuke's boot into their face.

Two shadow clones looped their arms through his and restrained them behind his back. They forced him to his knees.

Tora kneeled down in front of him. Beady eyes looked at him through the porcelain mask. A genjutsu blurred colour and shape, but the look was clearly hard.

"Dick move, Uchiha. You don't abandon your squad."

"I didn't ask for this – " "Ah! I don't want to hear it."

"You fucked up", Neko said. The voice was female, he realized distantly. "Next time, you fight it. If she needs to make a choice, Hokage-sama always give ANBU priority. The fox boy may one day take her place, but he hasn't yet. He will bow to the rules."

With that she rolled up her sleeves, tightened her gloves, and delivered a blow to his face that cracked his jaw.

"Consider this a lesson", Tora said. "We're doing you a favor, really."

The next blow shattered his collar bone.

"If we rough you up enough, maybe they'll be satisfied."

He doubted it.

Sasuke's instincts may have landed him in some bizarre and dangerous situations, but in this situation they were spot on.

His squad did not come to find him, right after they arrived. Which probably had to do with their extensive stay at the hospital. Apparently Hotaka had injured his right arm, which currently left him entirely arm-less. Chances were, that he wouldn't be put back on active duty for months. They'd be semi-permanently one man short.

When his captain saw him, jaw re-broken for the fourth time, limping and with two amateurishly taped ribs, she didn't look very merciful at all.

"And you let them beat you?", she seethed. "Some up-start regulation ANBU, who have no business messing around in our squad? And now we're another man short?"

For the first time since his mother's death, he was dragged off by a woman by his ear.

The ANBU healer wasn't as gentle as Sakura.

"I'm not treating traitors", was his first response.

"You're going to do your goddamn job", she snapped. There was a short stand-off, until Sasaki-taichou glared him into submission. The air is forced out of him, as his ribs snap back into place. The jaw gives an almighty crack and the low level head ache disappears. The relief is paired with apprehension.

If their revenge isn't physical pain, then what is it?

Oppressive silence greets Sasuke from the rest of the squad. In a way this is worse. They don't look at him, they don't speak to him. Not that he wants them to, of course. But it is … unsettling. He is hyper alert every minute of the day. Retribution never comes. Or at least not in the way he expects.

Work piled up. Hotaka's job as fukutaichou meant paperwork. He was also their berserker, breaking through enemy lines and making way for others. He did the dirty work.

This was now Sasuke's job.

He didn't sleep anymore; this time not because of his nerves, but because he was doing work for two people. Two ANBU.

Another stack of papers smacked down on his desk. Mikina stared at him with empty eyes. "Priority work." Then she turned on her heels and stomped out.

At the end of the week he went to see Hotaka at the hospital. The burly man was hooked up to machines that continuously pumped a pinkish liquid into his left stump and seemed to induce muscle contractions in his injured arm.

He looked mostly exasperated and tired.

"So you've actually turned up."

He didn't look angry, like the rest of the team. There was some amusement there instead, and it made Sasuke bristle. Who did he think he was laughing at? Who did he think was doing all of his work?

"Do you like your new job?"

He itched to activate his Sharingan, just to scan Hotaka's face. Detect any trace of derision on it. Mockery. But that would have meant defeat, so he controls himself.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean", the man says, very slowly and seriously, "can you do it?"

"Of course I can", Sasuke snaps.

Hotaka laughs and shakes his head to whip his blood red hair out of his eyes.

"You're a bonehead, Uchiha. But as much as Anegimi wants to beat the shit out of you, she also likes you. You're quite brilliant, really. My arm's on it's last _leg_, so to speak. I won't be able to do this job forever."

Sasuke froze. He didn't want such a job. He didn't even want to be part of this squad.

Hotaka's tone was humorous, but his eyes glinted sharply. "You **will** perform this job remarkably once I'm gone. You **will** take very good care of Anegimi."

Then all seriousness vanished from his face, and the goofy grin that Sasuke had come to know from the behemoth returned. "But not yet. I'm ready to get out of here by Monday."

Then he waved over one of the nurses, who promptly frog marched Sasuke out of the room.

"If I don't need to catch up on paperwork, I'll even call off the dogs!" Hotaka boomed after him, and this time he was most definitely laughing.


End file.
